BLUE Hill — Through the generosity of Rich Storck and Aletha Langham, Blue Hill Heritage Trust is now the new owner of Penny’s Nature Preserve, adjacent to the Peter’s Brook property in Blue Hill. This June, Rich and Aletha donated the 100+ acre Penny’s Nature Preserve to BHHT, along with a generous gift to the trust’s stewardship fund, so that the community enjoy this lovely property forever. In BHHT’s hands, the property will remain open to the public for hiking, dog walking, sporting activities and any number of wonderful exploration adventures. As it does with all their fee holdings across the peninsula, BHHT will enroll the property in the Maine State Open Space Taxation program, keeping the property on the tax roll.

The preserve comes complete with three miles of trails which Rich has spent fifteen years building, traveling along the brook as well as through some of Blue Hill’s most historic granite quarries. This turn key trail system will now connect with the existing Peter’s Brook Trail, as well as the new trail BHHT is building on the north side of the brook, on land donated by Doug and Posie Cowan in 2015. Later this summer, the trust will unveil the new bridge leading to the former Cowan property and will build a sister bridge to Penny’s Preserve, creating a more than five-mile trail system in the woods surrounding Peters Brook.

Blue Hill Heritage Trust has been busy putting laminated maps along the trail to help hikers get oriented to the new preserve. For those excited to explore this new property, the trail can be accessed either just beyond the waterfall on the Peters Brook Trail, or by parking at Peters Cove and walking apx .25 miles down the road to the East Blue Hill Rd entrance to the Penny’s Nature Preserve. Please call BHHT with any questions at 374-5118.